1. Field of the Invention
The claimed invention generally relates to stethoscopes. More specifically, the claimed invention relates to cordless or wireless stethoscopes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The threat of rapidly spreading infectious diseases to many different places around the world with little or no notice has significantly increased as international air travel has become commonplace. This threat coupled with increased concerns about possible biological and chemical attacks have resulted in a general increase in the awareness and preparedness of medical personnel to combat these types of threats. Doctors, nurses and emergency medical technicians typically use hazardous material protection suits, commonly known as HAZMAT suits, to protect themselves against these threats. HAZMAT suits completely isolate the healthcare workers from the surrounding environment forming a protective barrier against biological and chemical agents that may be presented by patients being cared for by the healthcare workers.
It has come to my attention during preparedness training for dealing with these threats that it is impossible for medical personnel to use a standard stethoscope when wearing a HAZMAT suit without compromising the integrity of the suit. Breaking the protective barrier of the HAZMAT suit defeats the purpose of wearing the suit and places medical personnel at risk. There are devices in the prior art that convey auscultatory information gathered by a stethoscope head in ways other than a standard stethoscope, but it has come to my attention that the prior art does not provide a stethoscope device compatible with hazardous material environments.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,350 issued to Simms discloses an electronic stethoscope and holder comprising a chest piece, an earpiece, and a casing for holding the chest piece and earpiece. The chest piece has a radio wave transmitter for transmitting auscultatory sounds from the chest piece to a receiver in the earpiece. This device could be used to transmit auscultatory sounds from the chest piece through a HAZMAT suit to a receiver within an earpiece worn by the suit wearer. However, this device does not address important concerns that are particular to hazardous material environments such as providing a device that is water tight so that it may be easily decontaminated after use in a hazardous material environment or providing a stethoscope head that is easily used while wearing gloves commonly employed by HAZMAT suits.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,544,198 issued to Chong et al. discloses a stethoscope system for self-examination whereby the condition of health of a particular individual can be diagnosed by comparing characteristic sound waves classified by diseases with sound waves generated from various parts of the individual's body. This device could also be used to transmit auscultatory sounds through a HAZMAT suit. However, this system does not provide a self contained and portable stethoscope device that can be used without other support structures in place and does not address the previously mentioned shortcomings that are particular in a hazardous material environment.
Therefore, there is a need for a stethoscope device designed for use by medical personnel wearing HAZMAT suits in hazardous material environments.